This publication consists of a set of case studies of quality assurance practices in distance teaching universities. The case studies are particularly relevant at a time when universities in many parts of the world, both new and established distance teaching universities, are placing great emphasis on reviewing and revising what they do in…

The prospect of resolving a library's space and utilization problems through expansion and renovation carries with it the question of how to maintain operations during construction. Few libraries, especially those in the academic world, can afford to close their doors for very long, even though the prospect of maintaining ongoing operations amid…

The Zanesville Campus Library serves the students and staff of Ohio University-Zanesville (OUZ), the Muskingum Area Technical College (MATC), and the local community. A library use survey was conducted to answer the following questions: (1) How many patrons are using the library and at what times? (2) What percentage of patrons were affiliated…

This paper examines the literacy services provided by public libraries in the rural areas (communities of 25,000 people or less) of West Virginia and Kentucky. Of the 93 libraries (68%) which responded to the survey, 89.8% acknowledge illiteracy as being a problem. However, although 92% of the librarians agree that illiteracy programs are an…

This paper provides a detailed account of the inception and growth both of the Shaker Historical Society and its museum and library in Shaker Heights, Ohio. It analyzes secondary sources of information and history, primary sources such as eyewitness accounts, records, annual reports, unpublished histories, and museum circulation records. Library…

This article presents the results of a study which examined schools and libraries in Sweden. During a five-month period 40 libraries and 150 classrooms were surveyed to assess the adequacy of their facilities, budgets, collections, staffs, and services. It was found that: (1) the size of the school library facilities depended on the type of…

This digest focuses on a variety of issues confronting copyright law in the digital age. The current copyright law was adopted in 1976, and could not possibly have foreseen so many new technologies. However, it did attempt to cover all bases by using language which was intended to be somewhat elastic. A current report by the U.S. Department of…

This PIALA 1997 Proceedings follows the tradition of publishing papers from each annual conference of the Pacific Islands Association of Libraries and Archives (PIALA). After welcoming remarks from Sue Moses, Kapily Capelle, and Isabel Rungrad, the following papers are included: "Places of Enlightenment, Places of Dreams" (Maradel Gale);…

This manual for volunteers begins with a brief introduction to Arizona's Library for the Blind and Physically Handicapped, which is one of 56 libraries appointed by the Librarian of Congress to provide public library service to persons with visual or physical impairments. Introductory materials include explanations of the general policies and…

This report begins by describing the activities of the members of the Nebraska Information Partnerships Planning Committee as they planned for the state conference, including a Delphi survey that was conducted to identify key issues and direction for discussion at the conference, and the selection of 100 delegates. Conference activities and…

This report describes how the Northland Pioneer College (Arizona) Library advertises its services and its learning resource center collections. The services that are provided are listed, and it is noted that the library uses bookmarks, flyers, and public service announcements via newspapers, cable outlets, and radio stations to publicize these…

This report is the result of a task force's examination of factors that promote or discourage access to public libraries, i.e., economic, educational, social, attitudinal, physical, and geographical factors. It begins by identifying the seven issues that the study focused on: (1) what makes a person feel welcome and comfortable in a public…

The Kent Free Library (Ohio) evolved from the Great Atlantic and Western Railroad Reading Room of 1875, into a municipal Carnegie library, and then grew to be a medium-sized public school district library, in the city of Kent, Ohio. Its original building has been enlarged through three separate expansion campaigns, in order to have space to house…

This pamphlet summarizes the results of a national survey funded by the U.S. Department of Education which asked Americans how they perceived the role of the public library in their lives. Those surveyed included a cross section of the national population, minority groups, and community opinion leaders. Most of those surveyed regard public…

A pilot project was conducted from May 1980 to November 1983 to test the application of iNet--a decentralized, packet-switched telecommunications network--to bibliographic data interchange in Canada. The principal components of the project were participation of the Bibliographic Common Interest Group (BCIP), a group of libraries with stand-alone,…